Conquering the Stanserhorn!

Our third, and last, day in Lucerne was a busy one. The main event was a guided climb of the Stanserhorn, one of the foremost peaks in that region of the Alps. But before we could attempt that, Paula wanted to visit one of the more notable sites in the city, that of the Lion Monument. In order to do so and still be on time for breakfast and our eventual departure for the climb, we needed to leave our hotel around 6 AM and find our way through the old winding streets of the City. After some ‘guidance’ issues (ask Paula about it) we found this wonderful tribute to about 600 members of the Swiss Guard. These warriors were part of the defense of the Tuileries Palace during the French Revolution. The Monument portrays a dying Lion, recumbent across symbols of the remnants of the French Monarchy, it was carved out of the side of the cliff in 1819. Over the years many a visiting soldier in uniform has had their photo taken in front of it. I must confess that the exquisite details of this Lion, lying in anguish and the perfect setting that surrounds it, making for a rather moving experience.

                        We returned to our hotel for breakfast and the start of the planned activities for the day before our eventual departure for Basel and our embarkation on the Viking Hlin. After breakfast we met our Guide, Aleksandra, who would be with us for the rest of the day. In the lobby we found everything that we would need for this climb, pitons, carabiners, several lengths of colored lines, helmets, and picks, just about everything we’d need for the rest of the day in order to summit the Stanserhorn.

                        We departed Lucerne and proceeded to go under the mountains that are in the rear of Lucerne. Tunnels are everywhere around here! They are obviously a more efficient way of traveling rather than going around everything! Mt. Pilatus (you’ve seen photos of it up behind Lucerne) was the largest of these obstacles in our way and it was fun viewing it from behind as we made our way upward.

                        Everything is vertical around here. Even the stairways seem to be steeper and definitely longer. Everything is a ‘climb’. Even the steps into the bus seem to be steeper than normal! We exited the bus at the base of the Stanserhorn, got suited up and proceeded to walk up through the Alpine meadows on the way to our first goal in this climb, the Funicular Tram.

That excursion lasted only about ten minutes or so and deposited us at our real entry way to the Stanserhorn. This is where it got very technical as our Guide tried her best to explain the workings of the Cabrio, apparently the only one of its ‘kind’ in the world. This marvelous mode of transportation brought us the rest of the way to the top of the Stanserhorn where we ditched all of the climbing equipment, walked around taking photos and proceeded to go inside the nifty Summit Lodge where we had French Fries and bought innocuous souvenirs to mark our intrepid ‘climb’ of the famed Stanserhorn.

                        Ok, please tell me that you really didn’t think that a load of old, overweight, barely able to ‘climb’ onto our bus, tourons were really going to make a “Technical Climb” of a famous Swiss Alps Peak?…… Pfew!….. You had me worried there for a bit!

                        Our decent went much quicker, the ride back to the hotel to pick up our luggage was uneventful, and we were soon on our way to Basel, where the Hlin was waiting for us, floating nicely in the Rhine River.

                                    The next phase of the Adventure had begun.

                        As usual, more tomorrow!